The UE Graduate School featured former Georgia State Senator and USAID integrity project leader James P. Wesberry Jr., and Office of the Ombudsman of the Philippines Consultant Dr. Rosette Gilda C. Librea in a lecture on “Accountability and Governance”, Wednesday, August 18, at the Conference Hall, 4th Floor, Dalupan Sr. Building, UE Manila.

Wesberry, also a former US Government Accountability Office Adviser, talked about “Integrity and Honor, Corruption and Dishonor”. Librea, likewise a UE Graduate School faculty member, discussed “Rights-based Development and Governance”.

A multi-awarded international crusader against corruption, Wesberry came up with these character equations: “Integrity + Honesty + Accountability + Ethics + Credibility = HONORABILITY; Corruption + Fraud + Bribery + Irresponsibility + Inveracity = DISHONOR.” To students aspiring to become auditors like him, Wesberry gave concrete examples of audit findings in local governments and discussed how advancements in the profession and real penalties discouraged fraudulent actions most of the time these were committed. Above all, he pointed out that integrity is the result of acting on wisdom arising from faith in God and noted that Filipinos had this character trait.

Librea said, “A rights-based development and governance a) adds the practice of fundamental human rights principles in development and governance interventions; b) adds force to the implementation of human rights standards through implementation of state obligations and human entitlements that serve to strengthen accountability and empowerment; c) adds value as method and tool that enhance existing processes of development or governance projects or initiatives; and d) adds to evidence-based generation of empirical-based indicators that could be used to replicate the wider use of the approach in development and governance.”